Michigan · Security deposits · Last updated November 15, 2026
Michigan security deposit rules: limit, deadlines and deductions
In Michigan, a security deposit can’t be more than one and a half months’ rent (MCL 554.602). Within 30 days after occupancy ends, the landlord mails an itemized notice of damages with the balance of the deposit, and a landlord who misses that deadline owes the full deposit immediately (MCL 554.609, 554.610). To keep money for damages the tenant disputes, the landlord has 45 days after occupancy ends to file suit, and a landlord who doesn’t follow that section owes double the amount kept (MCL 554.613).
Quick facts
| Deposit limit | One and a half months’ rent |
|---|---|
| Where it’s held | A regulated financial institution, or the landlord files a bond with the secretary of state |
| Move-in notice | In writing, no later than 14 days from the date the tenant takes possession, with a required statement in 12-point boldface |
| Tenant’s forwarding address | In writing within 4 days after occupancy ends |
| Itemized notice of damages | Mailed within 30 days after occupancy ends, with the balance of the deposit |
| Tenant’s response | By mail within 7 days after receiving the notice |
| Suit to keep disputed money | Filed within 45 days after occupancy ends; otherwise the damages are waived and double the amount kept is owed |
| Statute | MCL 554.601 to 554.616 |
Michigan security deposit deadline calculator
Pick the date to see each deadline.
Calendar days, all counted from the end of occupancy. The deposit act itself says nothing about weekends or holidays. The tenant’s 7 days to respond run from the day the tenant receives the notice, so they aren’t shown here. A landlord who sends the balance by direct deposit or electronic transfer has 10 days after mailing the notice to get the money into the tenant’s account.
The limit: one and a half months’ rent
Section 2 of Michigan’s security deposit act lets a landlord require a deposit for each rental unit and says it “shall not exceed 1 1/2 months’ rent.” On a unit that rents for $1,200 a month, the most a landlord can hold is $1,800.
The definition of a security deposit is wide. It includes any required prepayment of rent other than the opening full rental period of the lease, and any other money returnable to the tenant on condition that the unit comes back in the condition the rental agreement requires. Example: at $1,200 a month, a landlord who collects the last month’s rent in advance ($1,200) is holding a deposit of $1,200 already, which leaves room for $600 more.
The act doesn’t require the landlord to pay interest on a deposit.
- Limit
- Not more than one and a half months’ rent. MCL 554.602
- Prepaid rent
- Any required prepayment of rent beyond the opening full rental period counts as part of the deposit. So does any sum required as rent in a rental period in excess of the average rent for the term. MCL 554.601(d)
- Other refundable sums
- Any money or property returnable to the tenant on condition of returning the unit in the required condition is a security deposit. MCL 554.601(d)
- Interest
- The statute doesn’t require it. MCL 554.601 to 554.616
- No waiver
- The requirements of the act may not be waived by the parties to a rental agreement except as the act itself provides. MCL 554.606
Where the deposit is held, and the 14-day notice
The deposit goes into a regulated financial institution. A landlord may use the money for any purpose after depositing a cash bond or surety bond with the secretary of state that secures the entire deposits up to $50,000 and 25% of any amount over $50,000. Example: a landlord holding $80,000 in deposits needs a bond of $50,000 plus 25% of $30,000, which is $57,500.
Until the landlord establishes a right to it, the deposit is considered the lawful property of the tenant.
A landlord can’t require a deposit at all without a written notice to the tenant, given no later than 14 days from the date the tenant takes possession. The notice includes one statement in 12-point boldface type that is at least 4 points larger than the body of the notice or lease: “You must notify your landlord in writing within 4 days after you move of a forwarding address where you can be reached and where you will receive mail; otherwise your landlord shall be relieved of sending you an itemized list of damages and the penalties adherent to that failure.”
- Where it’s held
- In a regulated financial institution. MCL 554.604(1)
- Bond option
- A cash bond or surety bond deposited with the secretary of state, securing the entire deposits up to $50,000 and 25% of any amount exceeding $50,000. The surety company has to be licensed in Michigan and acceptable to the attorney general. With the bond in place, the landlord may use the deposit money for any purpose. MCL 554.604(1)
- Whose money it is
- The deposit is the lawful property of the tenant until the landlord establishes a right to it. MCL 554.605
- Move-in notice
- In writing, no later than 14 days from the date the tenant assumes possession. It gives the landlord’s name and address for receiving communications under the act, the name and address of the financial institution or surety, and the tenant’s duty to give a forwarding address in writing within 4 days after occupancy ends. MCL 554.603
- Required statement
- The forwarding address statement quoted above, in 12-point boldface type at least 4 points larger than the body of the notice or lease. MCL 554.603
- If the notice isn’t given
- The tenant is relieved of the duty to notify the landlord of a forwarding address. MCL 554.603
Inventory checklists at move-in and move-out
The act requires inventory checklists at both ends of the tenancy for every unit with a deposit. At the start of the lease the landlord gives the tenant 2 blank copies of a move-in checklist, on the same form that will be used at move-out. The tenant notes the condition of the property and returns 1 copy within 7 days after receiving possession, unless the two sides agree to a shorter period.
The checklist covers all items in the unit owned by the landlord. The statute names carpeting, draperies, appliances, windows, furniture, walls, closets, shelves, paint, doors, plumbing fixtures and electrical fixtures, and the list isn’t limited to those.
A notice in 12-point boldface goes at the top of page one of the checklist: “You should complete this checklist, noting the condition of the rental property, and return it to the landlord within 7 days after obtaining possession of the rental unit. You are also entitled to request and receive a copy of the last termination inventory checklist which shows what claims were chargeable to the last prior tenants.”
- Move-in checklist
- 2 blank copies to the tenant at the start of the lease, identical in form to the move-out checklist. MCL 554.608(2)
- Tenant’s copy back
- 1 copy returned to the landlord within 7 days after the tenant receives possession, unless landlord and tenant agree to a shorter period. MCL 554.608(3)
- Checklist notice
- The statement quoted above, in 12-point boldface type at the top of page one. MCL 554.608(4)
- Move-out checklist
- At the end of occupancy the landlord completes a checklist listing all the damages the landlord claims the tenant caused. MCL 554.608(5)
- Earlier damage
- The notice of damages can’t include damages that were claimed on a previous move-out checklist before the tenant’s occupancy. MCL 554.609(2)
After move-out: 4 days, 30 days and 7 days
Three clocks run after occupancy ends. The tenant has 4 days to give the landlord a forwarding address in writing. The landlord has 30 days to mail a notice of damages. The tenant then has 7 days after receiving the notice to answer by mail.
The notice of damages holds an itemized list of the damages claimed, the estimated cost of repair of each damaged item, and the amounts and bases on which the landlord intends to charge the tenant. The balance of the deposit travels with it as a check or money order. Since September 21, 2026 the landlord may send the balance by direct deposit or electronic transfer instead, and the money then has to reach the tenant’s account within 10 days after the notice is mailed.
Example: occupancy ends June 30 on an $1,800 deposit. The landlord claims $250 for a broken interior door and $150 of unpaid utility bills, $400 in all. The notice listing both items is mailed by July 30 with a check for $1,400. A landlord who mails nothing by July 30 has agreed, in the statute’s words, “that no damages are due” and owes the full $1,800 immediately.
- What a deposit can be used for
- Actual damages to the unit that are the direct result of conduct not reasonably expected in the normal course of habitation, rent in arrears, rent due for the tenant’s premature termination of the rental agreement, and utility bills the tenant didn’t pay. The statute allows no other uses. MCL 554.607
- Tenant’s forwarding address
- In writing within 4 days after occupancy ends. A tenant who misses it relieves the landlord of the notice of damages requirement but keeps the right to make a later claim for the deposit. MCL 554.611
- Notice of damages
- Mailed to the tenant within 30 days after the termination of occupancy. An itemized list of damages claimed, the estimated cost of repair of each damaged property item, and the amounts and bases of the charges. MCL 554.609(1)
- Balance of the deposit
- A check or money order with the notice, for the difference between the damages claimed and the deposit held. Or direct deposit or electronic transfer to a bank account or an internet or mobile payment account, within 10 days after mailing the notice (2026 PA 102, effective September 21, 2026). MCL 554.609(2), (3)
- Statement on the notice
- “You must respond to this notice by mail within 7 days after receipt of the notice of damages, otherwise you will forfeit the amount claimed for damages.” In 12-point boldface type at least 4 points larger than the body of the notice. MCL 554.609(4)
- Missing the 30 days
- The landlord is treated as agreeing that no damages are due and remits the full deposit to the tenant immediately. MCL 554.610
- Tenant’s response
- By ordinary mail within 7 days of receiving the list, stating in detail agreement or disagreement with each damage charge. The date of mailing counts as the date of the tenant’s response. MCL 554.612
The 45-day deadline to sue, and double damages
When a tenant disputes the damages, the notice alone doesn’t let the landlord keep the money. Within 45 days after occupancy ends, “and not thereafter,” the landlord either files suit for a money judgment for the damages claimed or returns the balance of the deposit, or an amount the two sides agree on in writing.
The statute lists four situations where a landlord may keep the claimed amount without a judgment: the tenant gave no forwarding address, the tenant didn’t respond to the notice of damages, the two sides agreed in writing, or the whole claim is unpaid rent.
A landlord who doesn’t fully follow this section waives all claimed damages and is liable to the tenant for double the amount of the deposit kept. Example: a landlord keeps $600 of a deposit for damages the tenant disputed in time and never files suit. The $600 claim is waived, and the liability under the statute is two times $600, which is $1,200.
- Deadline to file suit
- Within 45 days after termination of the occupancy, and not after. The alternative is returning the balance of the deposit, or any amount mutually agreed on in writing. MCL 554.613(1)
- Keeping money for damages
- Not allowed unless the landlord has obtained a money judgment for the disputed amount, or has filed with the court satisfactory proof of an inability to serve the tenant. MCL 554.613(1)
- When no judgment is needed
- The tenant gave no forwarding address under section 11, the tenant didn’t respond to the notice of damages under section 12, or the parties agreed in writing on the balance claimed. MCL 554.613(1)(a) to (c)
- Unpaid rent
- No judgment is needed when the amount claimed is entirely accrued and unpaid rent for a period when the tenant had actual or constructive possession. MCL 554.613(1)(d)
- Penalty
- Waiver of all claimed damages, and liability to the tenant for double the amount of the security deposit retained. MCL 554.613(2)
- Eviction judgments
- The section doesn’t stop a landlord from applying deposit funds to a money judgment obtained in summary proceedings. MCL 554.613(2)
- Who can enforce the act
- The attorney general or any affected individual may bring an action in the county where the defendant resides or does business. MCL 554.615
A sale of the property, and what this page doesn’t cover
When a landlord’s interest in a rental ends by sale, assignment, death, the appointment of a receiver or otherwise, the landlord or the landlord’s agent stays liable for the deposit until one of three things happens: the deposit is transferred to the successor and the tenant is told by ordinary mail, the successor meets the financial institution or bond rule, or the deposit is returned to the tenant.
The act’s definition of a rental unit includes apartment units, boarding houses, rooming houses, mobile home spaces and single and two-family dwellings, so the rules above reach mobile home lots as well. It leaves out two kinds of payment: an amount paid for an option to purchase under a lease with an option to purchase, and a membership in a cooperative housing association.
Subsidized housing programs can add deposit rules on top of state law, and cities can add rules of their own. This page doesn’t cover them.
- Change of owner
- The former landlord stays liable until the deposit is transferred to the successor with written notice to the tenant by ordinary mail, giving the successor’s name and address. Liability also ends when the successor meets section 4 (financial institution or bond), or when the deposit is returned to the tenant. MCL 554.614(a)
- Units covered
- Apartment units, boarding houses, rooming houses, mobile home spaces, and single and 2-family dwellings, among others. MCL 554.601(c)
- Not a security deposit
- An amount paid for an option to purchase under a lease with an option to purchase, unless the intent was to evade the act. Also a subscription for or purchase of a membership in a cooperative housing association. MCL 554.601(d)(i)
- Leases covered
- Deposits held under leases entered into, renewed or renegotiated after April 1, 1973. MCL 554.616
Questions landlords ask
What is the maximum security deposit in Michigan?
One and a half months’ rent (MCL 554.602). Required prepaid rent beyond the opening rental period, such as a last month’s rent collected up front, counts toward that limit.
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Michigan?
The landlord has 30 days after occupancy ends to mail an itemized notice of damages with the balance of the deposit. If no notice is mailed in that time, the full deposit is owed immediately (MCL 554.609, 554.610).
What can a Michigan landlord deduct from a security deposit?
Actual damages to the unit from conduct not reasonably expected in the normal course of living there, unpaid rent, rent due because the tenant ended the rental agreement early, and utility bills the tenant didn’t pay (MCL 554.607).
What if the tenant doesn’t give a forwarding address?
A tenant who doesn’t give one in writing within 4 days after occupancy ends relieves the landlord of the notice of damages requirement. The tenant can still make a later claim for the deposit (MCL 554.611).
What if the tenant disputes the damages?
The landlord has 45 days after occupancy ends to file suit for a money judgment, or returns the disputed amount. A landlord who doesn’t follow that section waives the damages and owes double the amount of the deposit kept (MCL 554.613).
Does a Michigan landlord have to pay interest on a security deposit?
No. Michigan’s security deposit act (MCL 554.601 to 554.616) doesn’t require interest. It does require the deposit to sit in a regulated financial institution unless the landlord files a bond with the secretary of state.
Free templates
- Security deposit return kit: itemized return letter, wear-and-tear guide and move-out checklist.
- Move-in kit: inspection checklist and deposit receipt, signed by the tenant.
Keep every deposit and its dates on one ledger
Landlord’s Desk keeps a rent ledger for every tenant, shows who still owes and gets a late-rent reminder ready for your OK. Each property also shows your state’s deposit return deadline. No credit card needed to start. Create your account by December 1, 2026 at 11:59 PM Central and you’re a founding member: 60 days free from the day you choose a plan, then 30% off your first 12 monthly payments or your first yearly payment. Claim the offer by choosing a plan by March 1, 2027 at 11:59 PM Central.
Not legal advice. This page is general information that summarizes the laws cited as read on November 15, 2026; laws change and courts interpret them. Check the current text (Michigan security deposit law, MCL 554.601 to 554.616) or talk to a local attorney before you act.